


Icebound

by noxiousSanctity



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: But I decided to post it in parts, Cop! ALlura, Cop! Shiro, It's REALLY OLD, Keith/Hunk mentioned, Lance absorbs a super serum, M/M, Shance Zine Horizon, Superhero! Lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-10 13:34:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15950399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noxiousSanctity/pseuds/noxiousSanctity
Summary: Lance didn't mean to turn into a superhero. But the perks are pretty nice.





	1. One Foot In Front Of The Other

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO EVERYONE!!! I've decided to post my Shance Zine piece that I did for Horizons over a year ago! I'm not going to be editing it much, as I'd like the basic feel of it to be fair and accurate. But there are five chapters, and I'm hoping that I'll post them every sunday night. 
> 
> I AM NOT DROPPING INFAMOUS INNOCENTS! I'm in a slump right now, but I promise that I'm working as hard as I can to make sure that each chapter I give you guys will be as good as you deserve (which is the best!!! You all deserve the best!!!) 
> 
> Thank you to @nutella0mutt on Discord for being SO positive and supportive!!!! I owe you so much!!!

Arus city, though better known as the _city of Fate_ , was once a brightly lit society, skyscrapers bright with the sun’s rays bouncing off of the glass lavishing the top and people bustling around minding their own little worlds, not worrying about anyone or anything. Their economy was wonderful, imports and exports of technological goods almost unparalleled since the creation of the city. It was by lavish beaches, drawing in tourists and residents alike, who yearned for both the outdoors and the crowded seas of people. The mayor was a man name Alfor Aegus, known for building the city himself and leading it to its ways of prosper. His daughter, Allura, had been perfectly groomed to become the next leader of this self-sufficient city with Coran, his longtime friend, by their side. Yes, years ago it seemed so perfect.

Until Alfor was killed in a back alleyway, Allura covered in her own father’s blood at the age of ten. She could still remember it so clearly, if he ever asked her. He hardly did though. He didn’t need to.

Lance Sanchez was the one that found Allura, standing by her father’s dead body. He had seen the way he’d been brutally stabbed and shot until some parts of him couldn’t be distinguished from others. He didn’t think. He grabbed her hand and ran, her limb limp in the grip of his own the entire way back to his house, where his mother was waiting with open arms and big eyes. She had asked him what had happened, but he could only stare at her with big watery eyes. He couldn’t say it to her then. It didn’t matter, though. She saw it on the news the next day, her warm brown eyes wide in horror as they slid over to the silent girl resting in the corner, curled up in a ball, blue eyes dimmed like broken Christmas lights. Lance sat next to her, holding her hand which only twitched once in a while. There were reports that Allura was declared dead as well, and as he stared at her, he knew that she might as well be.

“They won’t get away with it.” He whispered to her, squeezing her hand with as much love as he could muster. “You could go and tell them who did it.” Her eyes flickered over to him for a moment, the stare so sharp it felt like he could cut himself on those pupils. Still, he kept going. “You can reveal them.”

She didn’t speak for a while, eyes downcast before focusing on him again. “I won’t be listened to. You won’t be listened to. Who will listen to a ten-year-old and an eight-year-old? We’re just children.” She murmured, and Lance scooted towards her, resting on her side as Lance’s mother watched the TV for more information. “No one will believe me if I said who did it.”

“I will.” He murmured to her softly. She smiled bitterly before he continued. “I do. I promise. I will.”

“…You will?” She asked quietly, and the speed at which the fluffy brown haired boy bobbed his head almost made a laugh rise out of her hollow chest. “Even if… even if it sounds stupid?” He nodded again, nuzzling into her side to give her some comfort, and oddly enough, it was the push she needed to be honest. “Zarkon. My uncle.”

“Your uncle killed your father?” Lance asked with wide eyes, wincing as Allura shushed him in an almost violent tone. “Why would he kill your father? Aren’t they brothers?” He continued in a quiet whisper. Her eyes stared back down at the wooden flooring, and Lance could hardly imagine the horror of the act in action. He shivered at just the thought of someone in his own family receiving such… treatment.

“I don’t know.” She admitted, clutching her dress (The one she had been wearing had been thrown out, thanks to Lance’s mama. But the smell seemed to linger on her skin.) “Something about Voltron. I don’t know what that is, or why he wants it bad enough to… to kill my father. But I know that whatever it is, I will not ever let him have it.” She looked back at Lance, who was staring at her with wide eyes. “But I can’t do it by myself.”

“I can help.” He whispered back, clinging to her arm tightly enough that she felt a little bit of pain. Good. At least that was better than nothing. “I want to help. I want to help you. Please? Allura, let me help. I want to help.”

“Why?” Her words were biting, harsh, and Lance flinched back as if he were slapped. “Why should I trust you? What if your family will just take me in, let me get killed? Why should I trust some kid I met?” She expected the boy to get angry, to get mean. To yell.

But what came was something else as tears bubbled out of his bright blue eyes so similar to her own. “You-You lost your family. You lost your dad. They think you’re dead out there, but… But I want to be your family.” He sniffled, rubbing his nose as he sniffled, eyes lowered. “Imagining losing my dad or my mom like that is… too much. I want to help. Please?” His gaze was suddenly locked onto hers, bright with sincerity and tears. Neither of them noticed Lance’s mother watching them with wide eyes and tears in her own as well, a hand over her mouth. “Can I be your family now?”

Something dimly registered in Allura’s mind that the mental dam in her brain slowly began to crack before finally falling apart. She barely registered grabbing at Lance before wrapping him into a bone crushing hug, one hand around him and the other in his hair as she bawled into his shoulder. She almost didn’t realize she was being picked up by a larger, warmer body until the two of them were resting in a warm lap, loving arms wrapped around the both of them.

* * *

 

            _10 Years Later_

            “Lance.” Allura’s voice cut through the comms, a hint of annoyance running through her tone. “You need to stop dicking around and get in there. The security cameras are down, and you have about five minutes until they start up again. Pidge is only so good, and Keith’s already taken out the guards. Get. In. There.”

            “Gotcha princess.” Lance replied back, in a black catsuit as he stood on the top of a glass ceiling, looking down at the inside of the Galra Institute for Scientific Advances. This certainly wasn’t his first rodeo, but this was the first time he had such a short time limit. No sweat, though. He could probably do it. He pulled out a small laser cutter Hunk had made and quickly cut a hole through the glass, picking it up and setting it aside before tying his rope up to the edge of the roof. “Here goes.” Taking a deep breath, he gently slid through the hole and down the other half of the rope. His moves were smooth, practiced. Again. Not his first rodeo. But as his foot touched the floor, a sharp _click_ came from behind him, and he couldn’t do anything but slump his shoulders and sigh deeply. “God dammit.”

            “Stay where you are.” The familiar voice warned, and Lance’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Don’t move until I tell you to.”  

            _“Keith?”_ Lance nearly shouted, but when the gun poked him, he shut his mouth. That stupid mullet was just fucking with him, wasn’t he? “Keith, what’s going on?” When no answer came, he furrowed his brow even harder. “Keith, Answer me!” He was suddenly yanked down to the floor as soon as a bright light exploded right where Lance’s head was, making him nearly yelp in shock at the bang. There was a whirring sound, and then nothingness before Lance managed to catch his breath and turned around. “Fucking _hell,_ Keith! What the fuck was that?!?”

            The son of Zarkon furrowed his brow at Lance, as if he were looking at an idiot. “I don’t know if you listened to the briefing, but Pidge said that you needed to be careful about standing up straight in here. There’s flashbang bombs that could rip your face off in here.”

            “You would know, mullet. You should have it done, maybe it would make you look better.” He retorted, refusing to show how grateful he was for the man beside him undoubtedly saving his life. “…Is what I _would_ say, but for some reason Hunk likes you as you are.” The pink flush that spattered across Keith’s cheeks made Lance cackle before clapping him on the back. “Okay, enough of that. I’m gonna go and retrieve that little vial Allura’s sent us here for.” He turned on his comm. “Pidge. How much time?”

            “You have two minutes and fourty seven seconds.” Their clipped voice made him wince, as well as Keith. “You better get the fuck out of there, Keith. And fast. Lance, I can delay the cameras for just thirty seconds longer, but the motions sensors don’t have long until they turn on again. Get. Going.”

            “See you on the other side.” Keith murmured before racing off to the other side of the building, leaving Lance by himself as he took deep breaths.

            In.

            Out.

            Go.

            With a well-practiced move, Lance quickly slid across the tiled floors, remembering to stay away from the height he was standing at before. And it seemed Keith was right. Looking up from where he was on his knees, He could see slight lasers beaming across from wall to wall. He mentally thanked Keith again (Never to his face though. Helllllll no.) as he slid through the room to the laboratory entrance. He entered the code Pidge sent him and used his gloves as the DNA scanprint of some guy named Haxus. The doors whooshed open, and Lance looked for any more lasers before standing up, looking around.

            He was pretty sure he was in some sort of movie, the way tubes were everywhere, some bubbling and some not. There was steam coming out of one of them, but he wasn’t sure which one was… ah!

            He grinned and stepped towards the only blue test tube in the room, corked and glowing like a star. It was smaller than the rest of them, and as Lance picked it up Allura’s voice crackled through his headphone. “Lance, remember to be careful with that! It’s a transdermal liquid that apparently has the ability to mutate genetics. If any of that gets on you, you might end up a freak.”

            “Or a ninja turtle.” He grinned, enjoying the sigh on the other end of the comm. “I’ve got it. I’m coming back.” He grabbed the stopper and shoved it in before turning around and heading back the way he came, sliding through almost like he was ice skating on the tiles. He reached his rope and climbed up it easily, halfway up, ready to go to _bed_ -

            The alarm suddenly started sounding, and Lance felt the memories of his warm bed leave him. “Lance, _get out of there!_ ” Pidge shrieked shrilly. “The ceiling’s closing!”

            He looked up and yes, it was. Fuck. He climbed up as fast as he could, adrenaline fueling his mad run for the finish line. He put the vial between his teeth so he could move faster, faster, _faster almost there-_

            His body popped out, and he sighed in relief before his body seized. He looked over to the exit and saw that his foot was caught in the metal, which was slowly crushing his bones. “MmH!” He cried out, muffled by the tube in his mouth. It took a good few yanks, a few shouts from people he couldn’t pick out from the spots dancing in his head (was it breaking his foot that fast?) and he nearly cried out in relief as it finally yanked out of the hole, the metal shutting completely. He panted harshly as he tried to stand, crying out as he realized that _no,_ he couldn’t. Fuck. He pulled the vial out of his mouth. “’llura.” He managed through gritted teeth. “Foot’s… fuck, foot’s fucked. Need help.” Distantly, he could hear the sound of sirens approaching, and a cold sweat ran down his back.

            And he had his finals tomorrow. Fuck. He yelped as he tried to pull himself up on top his good leg, hissing at the pain before doing his best to hop across the roof. Pain was dancing through his head as he got to the edge of the roof, sweat pouring off of his head like he was in a shower. Allura’s voice came through the comm. “Hunk is on his way to your location. Just stay where you are, Lance. You’ll be okay.”

            “Thanks, Allura.” He replied, turning off his headset as he did his best to sit down, looking up at the stars in the sky. “So close.” He murmured, as if the universe itself cared to hear what he had to say. “So close to setting everything right.” He closed his eyes, letting the cold air brush against his cheeks and listening to the sirens streak through the streets like screeching birds. He took that moment to breathe once again, letting his body relax.

            And his relaxation was the price he paid. A hand pushed at his shoulder, and with a yelp, he fell off of the roof, plummeting to the ground several floors below. Raw fear coursed through him as he screamed out for someone, anyone to help him. Above his face, he saw the vial falling too, and with quick movements, he snatched it out of the air, keeping it close to his body. The last glimpse he saw of his attacker was icy white hair.

            He fell onto the roof of a car, smashing it through with his body mass. He choked on his own blood as he felt his body begin to shatter, breaking his back and some bones he couldn’t care to name in his head. Allura’s voice rang in his head as something sharp scraped his fingers. He barely managed to open an eye to see the bright blue liquid seeping into his clothes and into his skin with a cool tingling sensation. It didn’t burn, much to his surprise. But right now he was struggling to keep conscious as red and blue lights closed into where he was.

            “’Lura…” He mumbled, eyes falling shut at the shout of a broad shouldered man.

* * *

 

             “….recover….sustained…wounds….”

            “How… would this…fix?”

            “He’s awake.”

            Lance opened his eyes. A stranger he’d never seen before with warm silver eyes smiled at him. He had a startling lock of white hair, but the rest was a buzzed black colour. He was a cop, as shown by the outfit, or one of those really convincing strippers. Lance wasn’t sure which one he’d like more. “Who?...”

            “My name’s Takashi Shirogane. I’m the police officer that found you last week. You can call me Shiro.” His voice was warm and comforting, and Lance immediately melted at the tone. Holy shit, this man was a dorito with legs, that shoulder to waist ratio something to die for. “How are you feeling?”

            Lance swallowed weakly, throat dry and raspy. “M’throat… hurts.” He wheezed out, and Shiro was immediately there with a glass of water, helping Lance feebly put the drink to his lips and guzzle it down as his hospital bed was raised to a sitting up position. He let his eyes droop for a little bit before his eyes snapped open. “Wait.” Already the water was making him feel more alive, more active. “What? I’ve been asleep for a whole week?”

            Shiro frowned. “Lance, you fell off of a roof. Onto a car. You’re lucky to be as unhurt as you are.”

            Unhurt? “Wait, no! I didn’t…” He looked down at his own body, expecting to see the breaks in his skin, the bones and the blood. Instead all he saw were long and skinny scars, the colour of ice lining his skin like webbing. “What?...” He breathed out, eyes wide with alarm. What the fuck?

            “Yeah.” Shiro murmured, not aware of Lance’s disbelieving stare at his own chest. “I don’t know how you got those, but I wasn’t going to ask. I’ve got enough of my own to understand.” He tapped the bridge of his nose with a gleaming silver prosthetic. “But it seems that you’re doing well, now. I’m glad to see you’ve woken up.” Shiro stood up, and if Lance were standing, his knees would have given out from under him at the policeman’s full figure being revealed to him. Good god, those thighs should crush his head like a goddamn watermelon. “I’ve been given permission to give you a ride back to your house, when you’re done working out your paperwork. You have really good insurance, payed for the whole thing, though it wasn’t much. Let me know when you’re ready to go.” The policeman turned and walked towards the door, Lance’s eyes falling right to- oh dear lord. That ass must be what the golden globes were sculpted after. Holy fuck. The man stopped and turned to Lance, who stiffened with a ‘meep’ as the man gave him a once over. “Your face tattoos. They’re cool.” He said with a smile, before shutting the door behind him, leaving Lance even more confused. Face tattoos?

            He looked down at where he was laying, staring at the scars across his torso with a sense of confusion. “What the…” He murmured, running a hand over his chest. “What happened to me?” His memories were so blurry that he could hardly remember anything about falling. Just long white hair. And pain. And a cold sensation.

            Groaning, Lance sat up and stretched, feeling his neck pop with the exertion. He managed to stand up relatively easily before shuffling to the bathroom, rubbing his neck. His face must look so bad. He let his eyes open before they widened even further at the way his irises glowed in the darkness, an icy blue that looked so, so familiar. Strange rounded triangles rested below his eyes, glowing just as brightly. “What the _fuck?_ ” He nearly shouted, his grip on the sink tightening to the point that something began to crack, something being the sink. He stumbled backwards, his own gaze terrifying him.

            _What the fuck happened?_


	2. Chapter 2

            “So, you said you’re from Arus University?” Shiro’s voice was calm and melodic in his ear, even though he was struggling to keep his shit together. “You look like you’re supposed to be in high school.”

            “Graduated early.” Lance managed to mumble back, keeping his eyes directly on the road. The icy blue boomerang looking marks on his cheeks seemed to give his face frost burn when he flushed, though it was hardly visible. But when he had looked at himself in the mirror and started panicking, they only seemed to glow even brighter because of it. So there was _no_ way he’d be able to keep a straight face if he had to look at that model cop stretch out that shirt one more time with just moving his arms. “What about you, Officer Shirogane?” He tried to strike up a conversation, to keep his mind off of the bizarre happenings that was his life in that moment. “Where did you go to school?”

            “I actually went to The Garrison for Aerospace Engineering, but that kind of… Fell out.” The way that Shiro’s voice paused made Lance lift his head up to see Shiro smiling at him warmly. “And please, call me Shiro.”

            Lance’s eyes widened and he could feel blood rushing to his face as he quickly turned away to stare out the window, face burning as he could see the dull marks becoming light blue once again. He wasn’t sure what the actual fuck had transpired, but he sure as hell knew that he was gonna need to find his team again, and fast if he wanted to figure out what the fuck was happening to him. “Thanks for driving me back, Shiro.” He managed to get out, making sure that his eyes were shut, as he didn’t know if his irises would glow yet either. All he knew was that if it was dark, they light up. He _really_ didn’t want to test out the rest at that moment, so he made sure not to grab anything and just clenched his fist as carefully as he could, unsure if his… new strength could hurt himself.

            There was a slight pause in their interaction before Shiro’s breath was heard in a sigh and he replied, “No problem, Lance. I’m just relieve you woke up. Your family is really worried about you.”

            Lance sat up, eyes wide. “You called my parents?”

            Shiro turned to him and furrowed his brow for a moment before looking back at the road. “No. Your sister called. Why didn’t you tell me you had a cop sister? It would have been way easier to figure out where you were from.” Shiro paused. “Well. If you weren’t comatose. She called all the stations to try and find you. She’s a respected cop, too. She’s the one that hired me onto the job.”

            Lance perked up at that, staring at Shiro who continued to talk. “She’s the chief at just twenty years old, I gotta say that’s impressive as hell. She’s even got an online degree in international diplomacy while she’s working a full time job.” He shakes his head with a small laugh. “No wonder you two are related. You’re both ahead of your game.”

            A pleasurable feeling rushed through Lance as he tried not to grin stupidly at his legs. Compliments never ceased to amaze him, really. What, he met this man a week ago? (This morning, if you don’t count the fuzzy blurs of his own memory.) And still he felt like he was on a sugar high just listening to the man talk. But he kept the buzzed feeling to himself as he watched them pull into the brick driveway and Mediterranean style home he shared with the team, large enough to house all of them and maybe a whole football team. It was two stories with large windows evenly littering the dusky orange house. Trees of all kinds (though mostly palm trees) decorated the front yard along with a cobblestone that looked like something out of a fairy tale. Arches decorated the opening that led to the heavy wooden door, and the clay tile shingles made the house look like Lance’s grandmother’s home. There were the sounds of birds in the air, and Lance could do nothing but take a deep breath of relief to finally be at his home.

 Hunk was the Heir of a large business in Samoa, and the trade that Arus received made him so valuable he could afford this place without putting a dent in his pocket. It surprised everyone, including Keith, who was willing to help pay for it. But Lance was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth because _hey, is that an indoor pool?_

            “Lance!” Pidge’s voice sounded a lot friendlier in person than over radio, Lance mused to himself as he saw the short person race out of the door, along with his best buddy. He quickly got out of the car and braced himself for a hug, which Pidge surprisingly bestowed upon him, along with Hunk. He was so full of relief and wonder that he didn’t even hesitate to listen to Pidge’s foul mouthed relief and Hunk’s gross sobbing and lifted them both up for a hug, squeezing them tight. Relief turned into surprise and shock before he put them down, happiness making him beam at the two of them before pausing at the shocked looks on their faces.  “What happened to you?” Pidge asked with a look of subtle fear in her eyes, and that’s when Lance remembered the scars on his body, the marks on his face. He stiffened before trying to relax. “Lance?” she called again, and he shook his head.

            “LANCE SANCHEZ!” Allura’s voice made his face snap up to the veranda, where his sister was gripping the railing so tightly that he swore he could see dents in it even from this distance. She looked both furious _and_ relieve as she restrained herself from leaping over and falling the story to the ground, instead turning around and rushing through the doors. “YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!”

            Lance couldn’t help but smile as he let go of the other two, who were still staring at how different he looked and raced inside, admiring the worn leather couch and cozy interior despite the flashiness of the outside. The spiral staircase rested between the kitchen and the living room as he raced through the foyer and up the stairs. Allura met him halfway, practically launching at him and gripping his shirt so tight that he was sure she was going to rip it. They almost tumbled down the stairs if it weren’t for Lance’s hand gripping the metal tightly, Allura’s hair getting into his mouth like it always did. “Hey, Allura.” He hugged her with his left arm and then his right as they gained balance. “Sorry I didn’t come back on time.”

            “I thought I lost you.” She mumbled into his shirt, and Lance felt a pang of regret at her words. He should have been more careful. “When your radio went silent, I was afraid that I had lost another family member. I can’t lose you. Not again.” He could feel her arms tightening around his neck and he let himself slump in her arms, letting the weight of the morning’s events sag his shoulders and make his head droop. “How are you even _alive_ right now?” She pulled away and asked with wide eyes. “What-” then her eyes zeroed in onto his eyes, his new marks, and finally down to the ice white scarring that was visible when she tugged down his sleeve and revealed his collarbone. The gears in Allura’s brain were visibly turning before they clicked, and their eyes met once again. “The vial. The liquid. Lance, how much of it did you absorb?”

            “Um… All of it?” He tried to reply with confidence, but the nervous tilt of his voice made her eyes widen even farther with the news. “When I ah, when I fell… I tried to save it, but my impact made me crush the glass with my hands, and it got all over me.” He looked down at himself, Allura’s gaze following to stare at something only he could see. The blood, the bones, the bright blue flash that absorbed into him. “I almost died. But the stuff in it saved me. I’m sorry that I failed, Allura.” The sting that was subsiding was now back full force. They were so close, they had the key in their hands, and Lance’s cockiness had cost them all. There was no way he’d be able to get it out of him now. He had failed them.

            Allura’s hand was soft on his jaw as she pushed him to look at her. “Listen. I don’t think you understand how much more I value you than that stuff. I’m glad to have you here. And if…” She takes a breath. “And if we have to find another way, we can. I’m not going to give you up for this. I promise.” She hugged him close again before pulling away and seeing the officer and stepping away, going down the stairs and shaking his hand. “Officer Shirogane.” She smiled warmly at him.

            “Chief Of Police Allur-Oof!” Shiro was suddenly crushed into a hug by the slightly shorter woman, who lifted him and twirled him. Lance watched with a sense of warmth that only made the police officer’s face light up even more, silver eyes looking away as Allura put him down. “Well, I wasn’t frankly expecting that.” He laughed politely, straightening his hat and shirt. “Though the circumstances that brings us together makes it understandable.” Their eyes met again and both Lance and Shiro looked away at the same time as Hunk and Pidge enter the house again, considerably calmer. “Katie, Hunk, it’s nice to see you two again.”

            “You know each other?” Lance asked curiously.

            Pidge nodded. “We all knew each other because we went to the Garrison for different aspects of Engineering. I was several years younger than anyone else, but Shiro was there and helped me out. Same with Hunk.” Hunk beamed and fist bumped Shiro. Lance couldn’t help but feel just a little bit jealous, keeping his thoughts to himself. “Shiro, you’re certainly welcome to come back and see us again, but for now, we would like to spend some time with Lance. Is that okay?”

            “Yeah, of course.” Shiro nodded, eyes warm like molten metal. “I imagine you have to catch up, though it’s only been a week. I’ll get going. Pidge has my mobile number, so ask her for it.” He looked at Lance again and nodded politely before sliding out, eyes sliding down Lance’s figure before leaving, his ears red as the door shut behind him. Lance felt a sudden sense of loss as the car started and drove away, but immediately he was swamped by the others, questions overlapping exclamations of worry and panic.

            “Whoa, hey guys!” He took a step back, hands up in front of him in a placating fashion. “Calm down, okay? It’s been a rough morning.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m honestly getting more white hairs from this than actual aging.” His mumbles almost went unnoticed until Hunk nearly shrieked in shock and Pidge slapped a hand over her mouth. “What, can’t take a joke?” He said with a confused tilt in his tone. Their eyes didn’t seem to drift from his head, and he looked up and saw, to his disbelief, the brown roots of his hair shifting into an icy white colour. “Oh… oh my god.”

            Pidge was immediately on him. “Lance, you absorbed the liquid, right?!?” He nodded dumbly at her, and she grabbed his hand, tugging him up the stairs into the lab she shared with Hunk, computer bits and charts all over the place, the only relatively clean part of it was the examination and testing areas, Lance being dragged over to the former first. “Okay, so I’m going to have to run some tests on you, since we don’t have the liquid with us. I’ll try to make this as painless as possible, but from what I’m seeing, I think you’ve gained chameleon characteristics. You changed your hair colour from your thoughts alone. Let’s see… you’ve also gained cheek marks and your irises are a little bit brighter. Can you tell us of anything else that’s happened?” Hunk was already fiddling with a couple of machines, writing notes with one hand as he typed in calculations at the speed of light.

            Lance frowned slightly before pulling at his shirt, tugging it off to reveal the strange white scars that lined his tanned skin. Pidge’s eyes widened as she typed furiously onto her computer, cheeks going a little pink as Lance removed his jeans as well, thankfully keeping his shorts on. “These were on me when I woke up.” He mumbled, stretching out his left arm and twisting it, examining his own skin as if he’d never seen them before. “I think they’re from my fall, but I’m still not sure as to how the vial healed them so fast. Shiro was already at the scene when I passed out. That would have to be incredibly fast to get all of it healed so fast.” He splayed his right hand across his abdomen, where a cluster of lines met in the center, almost like a web. “Turn off the lights for a second. Let me show you.” Allura flicked the lights off and immediately his scars began to glow, bathing the room in a slight neon blue. “That’s all I know of right now.”

            Allura took a step forward, touching his wrist. “Do you know who pushed you?”

            Lance shook his head. “I remember white hair… and then I woke up to see Shiro.” Warm, kind, gentle Shiro. Lance could feel his face flushing and marks glowing brighter. “Long white hair.” When he looked up, he saw Allura’s eyes watching him with a kind of knowing glance, making him glow even brighter (literally) to the point where Pidge turned on the lights, rolling her eyes.

            “If you think he’s cute, just ask him out, Lance.”

            Lance stuttered. “What makes you think-”

            “No offense, man…” Hunk interrupted them all, and Lance saw that he was on his fourth page. Intelligent asshole. “…But now there is literally no way to lie about if you like someone. You literally light up.”

            “Shut up.” He mumbled. He looked at himself again before pulling his clothes on with a nod from Pidge. “What do we do now?”

            Allura seemed to consider for a moment before smiling at him. “How about for now we can just observe you and see what you can do now. I’ve got your final exams on your computer. Your professors were willing to give you leniency, due to the circumstances.” She clapped him on the shoulder. “Go on, I’ll make some brunch for all of us. It’s good to have you back.”

            “It’s good to be back.” He said weakly, before bounding to his room, slamming his door shut and sliding down it, the tips slowly turning back to the chestnut brown. “Christ.” He mumbled, staring at his own hands. It felt almost too easy to slip back into that memory of being broken, shattered beyond repair. He was so, so lucky.

            He stretched his arms before standing up, eager to get back to something normal and boring like exams. He cracked his fingers, opened his laptop, and logged into his school.

* * *

 

            The first time he accidentally used his power, it was when Pidge was reaching for something on the highest shelf of the bathroom. Lance was in the middle of brushing his teeth, groggy after finally getting a good amount of not comatose sleep. His head looked like a bird’s nest, and hers didn’t look much better. “Lance.” She grouched. “Can you get the new toothpaste for me?”

            “Mh.” He grunted at her, opening the cabinet. Surprisingly enough, it was a little bit too high for him, too. Hunk must have put it there. He closed his eyes and sighed, wishing he was just a little bit taller. An ache suddenly ran through him, and soon he was touching the box with ease. He blinked at it, toothbrush still in his mouth. There was a clattering noise as Pidge dropped her toothbrush in awe. He blinked owlishly at her before pulling his toothbrush out of his mouth and staring at her. “Holy shit.” He gave her the toothpaste before brushing his teeth again, having to actually crouch a little bit to spit out the liquid in his mouth. “The real question…” He mumbled as Pidge watched him with wide eyes, as if to catalogue everything. “…Is how I turn back into my normal form.”

            “Well, how did you get that tall?” She asked curiously, brushing her tongue.

            “I thought about it.” He mumbled, grabbing the cup to gargle and spit.

            “Well, then do that.” Was her simple reply, having foregone her own activities to watch what he would do. He looked down at her before sighing, relaxing his shoulders and staring at his own body. He took a breath, thought about being his own height again, when another ache, like he was being compressed, rolled through him, and he took a deep breath of relaxation. Pidge was practically sparkling. At his raised eyebrow, she clapped him on the shoulder. “You’re not just like a chameleon, you’re like a comic book superhero!!”

            Lance paused at that, considering for a moment before beaming at the idea. “Maybe I can use it to blend into places, get free food.” They both giggled until they heard someone lean against the doorframe.

            “Or…” Keith’s eyes were full of mischief. “You can use it to get into Galra Institutes Undetected.”

            Lance’s eyes widened. Oh.

**Author's Note:**

> There are five chapters!!!! 
> 
> Come find me on twitter, tumblr, and discord @noxiousSanctity I would LOVE to hear from you!!!


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